Fastening mechanism for refrigerator-car doors.



I J. P. OOQNNOR. FASTENING MECHANISM FOB. REFRIGERATOR CAB, DOORS.

APPIJQATIDN FILED MAY 26. 1910.

Patented Jan. 17,1911.

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J. F. OGONNOR.

FASTENING MECHANISM FOE REFRIGERATOR OAR DOORS.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 26, 1910 I 982,087 Patented Jan. 17, 1911.

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. if. OQOIINOR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 \VELLIAM H. MINER, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FASTENING: MECEANISM FOR REFRIGERATOR-GAR DQOBS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 17, 1911.

Application filed May 26, 1910. Serial No. 563,546.

lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to refrigerator car doors, the meeting faces ofwhich with each other or with the surrounding door frame provided with ayielding or compressible packing backed u by springs mounted in suitablerecesses formed either in the doors or door frame, and which packing iscompressed by the closing of the doors to cause them to fit very tightlyand produce effective heat insulation, the meeting faces of the doorswith each other or with the surrounding door frame being beveled orwedging to cause the packing to be compressed by the door closingoperation.

Heretofore in practical operation, great difiiulty has been experienced,both in forcing the doors snugly closed so as to properly compress thepacking between the meeting or surrounding faces of the doors and doorframe, and also in forcing the doors open,

and especially in cases where from exposure to wet or moisture eitherfrom the inside of the refrigerator car or from the outside, the doorframe or doors become swollen. And

.frequently in opening the doors they are very greatly in ured by pryingwith crowbars or hammering with sledges.

The object of my invention is to provide and combine with the doors onimproved construction of operating mechanism therefor which will servenot only to forcibly close the doors under great pressure at the finalor closing movement when the doors are forced home, but also serve atthe initial. portion of the opening movement to apply a very great poweror leverage in starting the doors open, however tightly the doors maystick or however greatly the packing may be compressed between thebeveled or wedging meeting faces of the doors with each other or withthe door frame, in order that the doors may be both opened and closedwithout injury or hammering, and which will enable the compressiblepacking to be always so tightly con ressed as to afford effective heatinsulation, and in which at the same time the mechanism employed forforcibly closing the doors and for forcibly prying them open may bemounted and practically combined with the doors and door frame with butrelatively very slight project-ion beyond the outside face of the car orof the door frame, while at the same time the operating lever may beappliedto the shaft at its middle portion, and also adapted to swingthrough an arc of 180 degrees, and thus fit flat against the doors whenthey are closed or opened, and operate effectively in opening and closinthe doors.

To accomplish t is object or result, and herein my invention consists, Iprovide the overlapping door or the one upon which the operatlng shaftis mounted, with a channel to receive the operating shaft substantiallyflush therewith, and provide the operating shaft with a bend or offsetand a swivel connection with the operating shaft, so that by giving thelever a half turn about its own axis, it will fit snugly against thedoors when they are closed, as well as when the operating shaft is givena full half turn through an arc of 180 degrees to force the doors open,the operating shaft at its lever being provided with a connectingmechanism, preferably intermeshing gears for antomatically imparting tothe operating lever the necessary axial rotation as the operating shaftis being turned thereby.

My invention also consists in the novel construction of parts anddevices and in the "novel combinations of parts and devices herein shownand described and more particularly specified in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure1 is a side elevation of refrigerator car doors embodying my invention,and showing a portion of the upright side wall of the car. Fig. 2 is avertical, cross section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 arehorizontal sections on lines 3-3 and l4t respectively of Fig. 2. Fig. 5is a detail horizontal section, similar to Fig. showing the partsin adifferent position,

and Fig. (5 is a detail view of the bevel gear on the operating shaft.

In the drawing, 1 re resents a portion of the upright side wall of arefrigerator car, 2 the uprights of the door frame, 3 the sill and atthe lintel or upper horizontal member of the door frame. y

5, 5 are refrigerator car doors connected by hinges 6, 7 at their outeredges with the 110 uprights of the door frame, and having hereled ormeeting wedging faces 8 for engagement with each other and forengagement with the corresponding wcdging faces 9 of the door frame. Atthe meeting faces of the doors with each other and of the door frame, ayielding or compressible packing 10 is employcd, mounted in a suitablepacking recess 11, and preferably having a rigid supporting strip 12,backed up by springs 13. The packing 10 at the outer faces of the doorswhich meet or close together is formed in one of the doors. At themeeting faces of the door and door frame, the packingrecess ispreferably formed in the door frame.

The doors are preferably furnished at their lower end faces with a metalWear plate 1 secured tov the lower wedging face of the doors.

The overlapping door is provided near its free upright edge with alongitudinal. channel 15 to receive the operating shaft 16 flushwithinits outer face, and also with recesses or sockets 17 to receive thebearings 18, 19 in which the operating shaft is journaled, said bearingsbeing secured to the doors by bolts 20, the nuts of which fit in slotsor recesses 21 formed in the door for that purpose. The operating shaft16 and its bearings, 18, 19, thus project very slightly, if at all,beyond the outer face or line of the doors or door frame. The operatingshaft 16 is provided at its upper and lower extremities with crank armsor eccentric ends 22, the wrist pin portions 22 of which are adapted toengage keepers 23 on the door frame. Each of the keepers 23 has an outerjaw 24 with a Wedge face 25 enacting with the crank arm 22, or its wristpin or eccentrio, portion 22 to force the door closed un der greatpressure'when the operating shaft is turned in the direction to forcethe doors closed. Each of the keepers 23 also has a co operating jaw 26,having a wedge or operating face 27 which engages the crank arm 22 ofthe operating shaftyand serves to force the door open when the operatingshaft is turned in direction to open the door, a very powerful leveragebeing exerted at the initial port-ion of the opening movement, owing tothe nearly tangential position or arrangement of the engaging orcoiiperating faces of the and crank arm or the wrist pin portion of thelatter. And for, the same reason, the doors are. forced closed under,

very powerful levorageg -and the packing forcibly compressed by reasonof the interengaging wedge faces of the doors with each other and withthe door frame as the crank arm of the operating shaft or the wrist pinportion thereof approael'iesthe tangential relation to the face of theouter jaw 24 when the operating shaft is turned sufficiently tocompletely close the doors;

The operating shaft 16 is furnished at its spectively, the same middleportion with an operating lever 28 having a bend or offset 29 thereinand a swivel connection 30 with the operatin shaft, the operating shaft16 preferably hav ing an enlargement 31 furnished with a hole to receivethe swivel or pivot end 30 of the bent operatinglevcr. The bend orolfsct 29 in the lever '28 enables its swivel end 30 to enter the holein the operating shaft, although the operating shaft is mounted in theupright channel 15 of the door. cotter 8?, in the swivel end of thelever serves to retain it in position on the operating lever. When thedoors are in their closed position, the operating lever is secured orlocked to the inner door by the lever fastener devices 34, 35 and fitssnugly against the outer faces of the doors, as will be readilyunderstood from Fig. 3. To open the doors, the operating lever is swungaround to the position indicated by thedotted lines in Fig. 8, thebender offset 29 in the lever enabling the operating shaft to be given afull half turn by simply axially rotating the lever 28 a half turn inits axial bearing on the operating shaft. As in my invention, the lever98 has a bend or offset, it is adapted to fit snugly against the outerface of the doors, While at the same time it is also adapted forconnection with the operating shaft which fits within the outer face ofthe door in which it is mounted, the swivel connection of the lever withthe shaft enabling the lever to be given a half turn as required tobring the bend or offset into cooperative relation I with the recessedshaft into whatever position the shaft may be turned.

To cause the lever 28 to be given the nec essary axial half turn as theoperating shaft is turncdby the lever to open the doors, I provide theoperating shaft and lever with connecting means to cause the lever toaxially turn as the operating shaft is turned thereby. The connectingmeans which I" prefer to employ between the lever and operating shaftare'intermeshing beveled gears 36, 37 on the operating shaft and leverrebeing preferably segment gears.

As in my invention, the upright operating shaft and its'bearings aremounted in a channel or recesses provided for their re (-eption in theouter face of the door, and as the crank arms at the upper and lowerends of the operating shaft and the cooperating keepers project onlyvery slightly beyond the outer face of the door frame, and as theoperating lever projects or extends from an operating shaft recessedinto the doors and is provided with an outward bend to bring it againstthe outer face of the inner door, the door operating mechanism, as aWhole, has substantially no external projection on the outside. of thecar, while at the same time provision is made for exerting a very eeepeviowerful pressure or leverage in mg and epening the doors. refrigeratorcar, furnished with my deers and operating mechanism therefor to bebuilt of .lthe full width of other cars, and materially enlarges thecarrying room or space'and capacity of the refrigeretor car.

I do not herein claim broadly the combinelion 05 en operetin shaftadapted to be meumeql in-a. chenne near the edge of a swinging deer andprovided with erank'n'ms at its epper and lower;extremitieeeclapted toengege-kee ers rm me door frame with an axially rotataile leveleemlectedx o said ep' mating shaft, and having a thereinlo adapt it tofit vparallel to the 01131425 {3 0f the door when the operating shaft istume i irate either e15 rative orinoperative position,

as that liorms the subject of my eompamon Impending eggplieetion 563545,filed May 26,

I claim 1. The combination with an operating shaft adapted to be mountedin a channel nee! fine edge (if a swinging (leer, said shaft beingprevided with crank arms al its upper and lower extren'lities adapter toengage keepers on a door frame, of an operetliag lever provrded with enofiset end having e This enables tile swivel mmneetion with said shaft,whereby figld lever is adapted to turn axially and lie lel with the faceof the door without from the walls of said channel whee said operating:shaft is turned into either eperative or irgoperative position, saidlever and; epemiing smelt hav g wacling means to eeuee the le el 0 la eas the Shaft is turned by said lever,

2. The wmb'netlon with an operetin shaft adapted to be mounted-in eehenne' near the edge of a swinging door, seid shaft being provided witherenlr arms at ile upper and lower extremims adapted to engegev keeperson a door frame, of an operatmg lever provided with enofiset; and having51 swivel eenneetion with said she {m t lever is adapted to mm axial. yeml lie nerellel wieth the faee 0f the door without. mlerferenee fromthe walls of said channel when said epereeipg shaft is turned intoeither operative 5 f imperative position, said lever and eeermlinlgShaft leaving intermeshing gears w eeueeehe lever to rotate are theshaft is turned by said levee,

JOHN ,F. DGQHNOR, Witnesses:

PEARL ABBAMB,

M. MUN-DAY.

whereby

